USB group none too happy with Palm’s iTunes hack, either

Palm's attempt to get the USB Implementors Forum on Apple's case for blocking …

Palm may be forced to give up its repeated attempts to add automatic iTunes syncing to its Pre smartphone without Apple's consent. Palm complained to the USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF) about Apple's attempts to block syncing with non-Apple devices, but the result was a rebuke from USB-IF director Traci Donnell for Palm's unauthorized use of Apple's Vendor ID.

When the Pre made its debut, Palm touted a feature called "MediaSync." Putting a Pre in this mode allowed it to automagically sync non-DRM content, including music, photos, and video, with Apple's iTunes software. Unlike syncing software for third-party devices, which use the XML-based iTunes Library file to perform similar functions, a Pre in MediaSync mode would report itself to the system over USB Mass Storage Interface as an iPod model. This clever hack—a result of having numerous former iPod and iPhone engineers working on the Pre—fooled iTunes into thinking it was talking to a real iPod and enabled the automatic syncing.

Apple responded by saying that "newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players," and it wasn't long before Pre syncing was blocked by the iTunes 8.2.1 update. It did this by looking at the USB Vendor ID—a special code given to a company by the USB-IF—and blocking anything that didn't have the Apple Vendor ID. Palm tweaked MediaSync in the webOS 1.1 update so that it used Apple's Vendor ID, getting around Apple's block once again. Palm then sent a complaint to the USB-IF, noting what it characterized as (ironically enough) "improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member."

Unfortunately for Palm, the USB-IF doesn't see the issue the same way. According to a letter from USB-IF director Donnell seen by BusinessWeek, Apple isn't doing anything wrong by only allowing devices with its own Vendor ID. "Palm's allegation (if true) does not establish that Apple is using its Vendor ID contrary to USB-IF’s policies," she wrote. Furthermore, Palm's aping of Apple's Vendor ID is a clear violation of USB-IF policy: "Palm may only use the single Vendor ID issued to Palm for Palm’s usage.... Usage of another company's Vendor ID is specifically precluded."

Donnell has given Palm seven days to respond to the ruling, to "clarify its intent." But it may just be a moot point; Apple has once again blocked Pre syncing in iTunes 9, even with Palm's use of Apple's Vendor ID. Perhaps Palm will give up this cat-and-mouse game and write its own syncing application, instead of trying to pass off unsupported hacks as a "feature."